The Indian pharma industry, which is currently valued at $49 billion, is expected to reach $130 billion by 2030 and become the leading provider of medicines in the world, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) Secretary General, Sudarshan Jain told IANS on Thursday.
Citing two big factors for the growing Indian pharma industry, Dr. Viranchi Shah, national president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), said that production-linked incentive schemes (PLIs) and cluster manufacturing are the key factors contributing to the sector's growth in India.
Shah explained that with PLIs and cluster manufacturing, a large part of imported medicine and equipment will be manufactured locally, decreasing India's dependence on imports and guaranteeing national healthcare security.
"When India completes its 100 years of independence, India in 2047 will be a $500 billion industry. PLI 1.0 and 2.0 are vital for India to achieve this goal," Shah said adding that his company is working with the Government of India on PLI 2.0.
Other reasons, Shah said, India is moving from being a generic manufacturing giant to a value-added one are innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, which will drive the country toward this goal.
Big Challenge
Ravi Uday Bhaskar, director general of Pharmexcil, said that although the future of the Indian pharma and allied industries is bright, there are several roadblocks to its growth.
Bhaskar shares that any export will depend on import policies, which are different from country to country, and thus, there is a need to streamline the regulations.
For this, an industry regulator understanding is important for growth, he said.
"Common regulatory standards like those in the European Union need to be worked out globally so that it is helpful for the pharma industry," Bhaskar explained.